Regarding "6-figure payout checks not rare at HFD" (Sunday Front Page), it's hard to say that the practice of giving retiring Houston firefighters a six figure parting gift in supposed unused vacation and sick time is any kind of surprise. Stories of similar public sector employment boondoggles have been cropping up for over twenty five years now, including a similar program for retiring police officers, the recent story of berserk overtime payments to firefighters, the "court time" pay scandal for HPD that allowed many cops to more than double their salaries, overtime pay policies that allowed bus drivers to make more than $100K per year, bonuses for teachers based on no objective criteria: the list goes on and on.
They all share several things in common:
- Every single perk was backed - forcefully - by a taxpayer funded public sector union, which then turned around and used those dollars to fund the very politicians making these terrible decisions.
- Each perk was implemented without the Public being properly informed. Most were done with no public disclosure at all.
- Perks of these kinds are never available in the private sector.
- The vast majority of the recipients invariably think that even the most outrageous perk is OK, simply because it is in a contract.
- This isn't even close to being the last public pay boondoggle; it's merely the most recent one to be exposed to the light of day.
Ironically, HFD just announced that it is cutting back ambulance service in part because of out of control overtime for firefighters. The depressingly predictable outcome here is that it is once again taxpayers - and their children - who are the victims, getting inferior service or no service at all, yet expected to pay through the nose for the privilege.
We all eat at the same table, but public sector employees are taking way more than they contribute.
Pete SmithCypress, TX
http://www.houstonchronicle.com/opinion/letters/article/Friday-letters-A-smoldering-issue-5274900.php
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